Belgium Now Owns $341.2 Billion in US Debt

As of February 2014, the three largest foreign holders of US debt were China, Japan and - Belgium?

According to numbers that were released by the Treasury Department earlier today, Belgium reported total US debt holdings of $341.2 billion in February, up 9.9% from the month before. Over the past 12 months, Belgiumís holdings of US debt have skyrocketed by over 82%.

So, is Belgium actually buying up all of this US debt?

According to numerous sources, this is almost certainly not the case. There are two possible explanations that are being floated as to Belgiumís sudden surge in US debt holdings:

1) Other nations are using Brussels as a financial centre

2) More investors are using Euroclear, which is based in Brussels

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The list of the top five holders of US debt as of February 2014 looked like this:

Russia, which has not exactly been on the best of terms with the United States as of late, saw their holdings drop by 4.25% to $126.2 billion in February. Russiaís holdings of US debt are down by 23.47% over the past year.

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Foreign holdings of US debt increased by about $45 billion to $5.8853 trillion in the month of February. The world, it appears, continues to have a veracious appetite for US debt.